Letter to the Editor: Orcas Readiness to Learn thanks United Way

Readiness to Learn/Orcas Island School District is a program whose state-funded mandate is to serve school-children in grades K-12 and their families, doing anything and everything they can to help students be “Ready to Learn” every day at school.

That mission is carried out by a Program Coordinator, Margie Doyle, and Family Support Specialists Sandi Burt and Julie Pinardi at the Elementary and Middle-High School levels, respectively.

We serve the students at school in providing or referring for academic, medical and socio-emotional challenges through “Social Skills” group activities, tutoring, homework study and XO (One Laptop Per Child) computer clubs, helping arrange medical and legal appointments off-island, budgeting and study skills consulting, teacher conferences, and mental health referrals (to all island school-age children), among other activities.

We link students and their families with community service referrals such as OPAL and OPALCO, the Food Bank, Island Market Giving Tree, Christian School Clothing Bank, YMCA Camp Orkila and local businesses.

We also maintain a community donor fund for Family Emergencies that, in the last year, has helped with rental and utility assistance, transportation and lodging for off-island medical care, sports and recreational activities, field trips, employment assistance, gas and grocery purchases.

RTL is able to do all this with supplemental funding from San Juan County, the Orcas Island Community Foundation, and significant funding from United Way of San Juan County. This year started off with parent class meetings in the fall, in which desires for English Language Learning, Single Parent groups and Parenting classes were expressed.

Thanks to funding from United Way of San Juan County, RTL was able to fashion a multi-approach “Parent Peer Power” program. We hosted Single Parent Nights, a meeting of the Spanish-speaking parents, two series of Active Parenting Now! classes (with a third “Parenting for Teens” class planned for next fall), and a Homework Study Club twice a week, staffed by a bi-lingual parent/teacher. All these programs will be repeated next year.

Readiness to Learn is most appreciative of the local support we receive from United Way of San Juan County in making “Parent Peer Power” a great resource for addressing community well-being at the schools.

For more information about the Orcas Island Readiness to Learn program, please contact Margie Doyle, Program Coordinator at  mdoyle@orcas.k12.wa.us.

Thank you United Way!

Margie Doyle